Missouri DNR, Get Coal Ash Out of Our Water

Coal ash pollution of groundwater, drinking water, and surface water (rivers, streams, lakes) with toxic waste chemicals is a worldwide problem that is front and center in the United States and Missouri right now.

The Washington Post recently wrote about the national coal ash pollution issue.

Use EIP's Ash Tracker to see if sites near you have been tested and what pollutants are present.

Missouri state regulators, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), are attempting to create weak standards which allow polluting utilities off the hook. We cannot stand by and let this happen.If DNR hears from enough of us, we can engage DNR in a conversation about how to solve our coal ash problems. Currently, they do not see us as powerful as the utilities.  If they did, they would not allow this pollution to continue.

Sign and SHARE our petition – Demand DNR Get Toxic Coal Ash OUT of Our Water

In Missouri, coal ash is stored along our nation's largest rivers and in communities, near creeks, streams, and lakes. Missouri is the "River State" and is dotted with caves, streams, lakes, sinkholes, and wetlands. Missouri is particularly vulnerable to water transport of soluble toxins. It is also difficult to identify where toxins are present and where they are going. Coal-fired power plants enjoy using millions of gallons of water from the Missouri River and the Mississippi River while dumping toxic waste directly into the water table and discharging relatively untreated wastewater into our rivers.

Missouri's groundwater testing results around coal ash sites show high levels of multiple toxins including arsenic, lithium, cobalt, molybdenum, boron, cadmium, cobalt, and sulfate.

St. Louis NPR, KWMU Radio Station article on groundwater contamination at Missouri coal ash sites.

Sign and SHARE our petition to compel DNR to hear our concerns and represent our communities.

If state regulators (DNR) adopt regulations AS DRAFTED, utilities will be allowed to do the unthinkable:

1) leave polluting coal ash in place, sitting in groundwater and polluting forever

2) limit the list of chemicals tested which would postpone identifying a public health risk

3) hide data and risks from the public (in violation of the EPA Coal Ash Rule)

4) operate without permits

5) not be accountable to the residents most impacted

Toxic chemicals in coal waste?

• arsenic: known carcinogen
• lithium: causes neurological, kidney, and thyroid damage
• molybdenum: causes kidney and liver damage
• boron:  developmental and reproductive toxicity; low birth wt
• cobalt: thyroid damage
• cadmium:  kidney damage, likely carcinogen

All the above toxic chemicals have been detected above safe levels in samples tested around Missouri's coal ash sites.  At many sites, more than four chemicals have been detected and we have no idea the risk of consuming or exposure to multiple toxic chemicals.

Recent data disclosures under the federal Coal Ash Rule have confirmed dangerous contamination at 92% of coal ash ponds and 75% of coal ash landfills nationwide.

See newly released report, Coal's Poisonous Legacy: Groundwater Contamination by Coal Ash Across the U.S. with summary data on Missouri and other states.

By signing this petition, you....

• Join us in saying NO to polluting utilities and regulators that capitulate.
• Join us in demanding clean closure of these sites - to excavate, recycle, landfill, and remediate sites impacting communities and bodies of water.
• Add your name to the list of those asking for clean closure of all Missouri ash ponds and landfills sitting in groundwater.
• Demand DNR establish a coal ash permitting program
• Demand testing for all the identified coal ash toxins every time utilities test - should be quarterly.
• Demand public transparancy and participation in permit decisions and corrective actions
• Demand remediation that allows once polluted land to return to previously productive land uses: floodplain, water filtering, agriculture, etc. 
• Demand protections for cleanup workers

Missouri is one of a handful of states trying to supplant the federal EPA Coal Ash Rule and is one of the weakest proposals. We must stop them, given the implications for other states.

WE NEED YOU and your networks to help us stop Missouri's Department of Natural Resources from enacting weak state coal ash regulations.

WE NEED YOU to stand with us in demanding these sites be excavated, materials recycled or landfilled appropriately, and sites remediated and returned to floodplain and previous land uses.

WE NEED YOU to sign the petition, SHARE with others, and follow the issue with us on Labadie Environmental Organization (LEO) Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LabadieEnvironmentalOrganization/

Thank you! Your efforts will make a difference. With your help, we will right this wrong. We will demand clean up coal ash pollution on our nation's major rivers.  A win in Missouri is a win for all of us.